


Kits from the most expected of places

by Kayoi1234



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Danzo is mentioned and nothing good comes from it, Gen, I made up thieves can words because I am like that, Incorrect use of Thieves Cant, Loneliness, Not Canon Compliant, Orphans, Pickpockets, Slang, i take canon out back and shoot it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23785729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayoi1234/pseuds/Kayoi1234
Summary: The Slums of Konoha define Naruto like a brand, engraving the language of thieves and starving children into his memory and tongue that speaking something else is basically impossible.Because as much as you want to forget it, you're always part of that world, whether you want to or not.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Naruto. 
> 
> I am writing Naruto Fanfiction.  
> Dunno if Konoha actually has something akin to a slums, but they do now! I wanted to write Thieves Cant so here we go, including words I mad up because there is no word for "shinobi"
> 
> (Future Reference: Shinobi are often referred to as Slinkers)

Anxiety and abandonment paint Naruto like a brand, almost. It wraps its cold restraints around him, choking him, forcing him to be _quiet, quiet, quiet_. Solitude defines him, with cold sharp edges and straight lines in the sand separating him from the rest of the world. Marks of loneliness and pain and simple misunderstandings cover him since childhood, and if being loud is no longer an option, then it must be silence, the kind that leaves harm all over his memories like a thick coat of tar, black with sorrow and dark with something akin to –

\- or, loneliness can affect a child in many different ways, and not always does it mean that a child becomes loud enough to demand attention from the rest of the world. They, instead, becomes silent, become quiet, they fall through a system’s fingers like sand, never to be found again.

So, in regards to Naruto, loneliness defines him like how a seal brands him and fox gives those outside of the slums a reason to hate him, and there is silence that marks him as one of the invisible children, lost to a system. Almost a ghost in a sense. There is power in his fingertips and power in his words, but no one is there to notice the potential that the little fox boy has through his actions, and there is no one to notice him as he turns into one of the many invisible children that populate The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of clanless children, of those orphaned, of those scorned, of those kicked out of homes and buildings, of those disowned. Some get collected by Danzo and his organization of people that have become nothing but silent ghosts themselves. But most invisible children, like Naruto Uzumaki, are left well enough alone, children that have fallen through the gaps in the system, children that people pretend don’t exist at all.

\---

Naruto speaks in the language of the village slums, coded words that carry double meanings, a cipher so extensive and complicated that even the shinobi can’t figure out what the slum children are saying. A language ingrained so deep into the children’s tongues that even genin graduates of the original slum children still speak it, dipping back into a code so complicated that their teammates won’t understand a single word.

The rest of his class doesn’t understand what he says, all of them born outside the slums, never forced to live in the bottom layer of Konoha’s worst. They think he speaks nothing but nonsense, words that don’t make sense.

But Iruka understands. He’s a slum child himself, but not though birth but by those who are orphaned. Naruto has heard stories of the dolphin that joined the shinobi and became a teacher.

 _“Became a slinker, that boy.”_ One of the old men had said, huffing. _“Then went on to become a teacher for that damn academy. Breeding ground for slinkers, I’d say.”_

Iruka asks a question, something about who a shinobi’s loyalty will lie, and he calls on Naruto, who had been paying attention, but most thought he doesn’t.

“It’s obvious,” Naruto answers, his speech thick with the accent of the slums, “You’d put that loyalty to the village, because that’s the place that provides you with your bits. Otherwise, you just end up goin’ legit or in their guesthouse.”

Iruka narrows his eyes, and Naruto rolls his, reluctantly translating his words for everyone else. “I mean, you’re loyal to the village because they pay you, otherwise you’ll just die or end up in prison.”

Iruka nods and continues his lesson, prattling on about _The Will of Fire_ and other topics, and Naruto tunes it out, running numbers to see if he can factor new clothes with food or will he be going to go hungry again for the next week or so.

\---

He’s on Team 7 after a fiasco and a half, with Mizuki turning out to be a traitor and being captured for all the trouble he’s caused. Iruka, with a large shuriken to the back causing a need for surgery and Naruto gets a truth of a fox and a seal, and that’s the end of that. He and Iruka speak in the language of the slums for an entire day, enjoying the looks of numerous shinobi who walk in and have no idea what they’re saying.

Naruto is on Team 7 with Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. They both don’t understand what he’s saying either. That’s because Sakura is the daughter of parents who are both well off, easily avoiding the slums like a small rain puddle. Sasuke avoids it too, because he’s a clan child without a clan, living in a district too big for one person. Naruto does not attempt to teach them how to speak the words of the ghettos of Konoha, because his accent is thick with hunger and cold nights, and there is nothing to suggest that he’s any good at being a well-behaved person at all.

Their teacher comes several hours late, and tells them to meet him on the roof for introductions.

When they do, and they sit, their teacher tells them his name is Kakashi Hatake, and he’s their Jonin Instructor until they become Chuunin. Then he looks at Naruto, and asks him to go first. “You know, your likes, dislikes, hobbies and future dreams. Stuff like that.”

Naruto stares at Kakashi for a moment and a bit, and then says “Name’s Naruto Uzumaki,” his voice thick with the language of those who do not know whether or not they were going eat the next day. “I dunno what to tell a slinker about a kid like me. Don’t know what you’d might do with that information.”

Kakashi does a weird little eye-smile, and says “And, what exactly is a slinker, Naruto?”

Naruto blinks. “Y’know. Slinker. Dog of the village. Hit-man. Don’t you know?”

Kakashi sighs, and moves onto the other two. Naruto listens as Sakura says she hates him and looks at Sasuke with stars in her eyes. Sasuke stares straight ahead and says he’ll kill a certain man.

Kakashi tells them about a test, about how they aren’t genin yet. Meet him at this training ground so they can find out if they pass or not.

\---

Naruto is at the training ground at 8 AM, perching himself on one of the stumps, eyes staring at the bridge that everyone crosses to get there. Sakura is next, deciding to sit away from him, running her fingers through her hair, far longer than what is acceptable in battle. Sasuke comes next, sitting away from both of them, but Sakura goes and follows Sasuke in an attempt to converse with him, but he ignores her. 

Most likely because he’s still going over his claims of revenge, of a score settled and blood that will be spilt as a tribute to the dead.

Naruto resumes watching the stairs. He’s part of Konoha’s invisible children, he better make it count.

\---

Kakashi comes several hours later, and Naruto stare at him, his gaze digging into his teacher as he explains the rules, how they must come with an intent to kill if the are to retrieve the bells. It’s a test of teamwork, because maybe Naruto doesn’t understand emotional responses all that well, and maybe most academic things don’t make sense, but Naruto has been surviving on his own in one of the most dangerous areas of Konoha, forced to learn to look underneath the underneath ever since he could speak. It’s the basis of the language of the slums, to do that after all.

“So, what?” Naruto asks, before they begin, body tense, curled in like a cat waiting to pounce. “Am I allowed to get one of them as hired help, or are they just going to leave me brimstone?”

Kakashi shrugs in the sort of “I have no idea what you’re saying” kind of way and tells them they can start.

Sakura and Sasuke spring back, hiding themselves in the forest. Naruto lunges forward, aiming for the man’s legs

Shinobi fight dirty but so do kids when there is nothing left to eat and the one shinobi who has come into the slums, often genin with a big head and bigger egos, gets pick-pocketed of their money and wallets, of weapons that aren’t strapped down. Naruto’s been a pick pocket himself a few times, when money was tight and the orphan fund had depleted, sometimes a shoplifter when things got desperate.

Naruto is a thief, plain and simple. He’s stolen a lot of things before. Thieves don’t kill, but anything not strapped down is his to take, because that’s the kind of person he was forced to be.

 _“You’re one of the invisible children”_ , the ramen stall owner had said when Naruto was hungry and the man was the only one who could feed him before Naruto learnt how to sneak genin wallets from their pockets and kunai from their weapon pouches, _“You’ve never had any one to rely on expect other children and yourself, right?”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I am doing good lord.
> 
> I am taking canon out back and shooting it and the first step to that is to rewrite Sakura's development arc because The Naruto Creator clearly cannot write women and girls.

They fail Kakashi’s bell test. It’s a desperate move fuelled by anxiety, the kind that boils in the pit of Naruto’s stomach, writhing and waiting to _move, move, move!_ It’s a dirty trick, but Naruto can’t do anything because he has two teammates that hate him and a teacher that stares at him with regret colouring his eyes. There is no salvation, there is no way that Naruto can work with the other two, because his teammates are not invisible children, are not born of the slums, are not shaped by cold nights and empty stomachs.

Sasuke ends up tied to a stump, and he glares at their teacher, and Sakura does as well, anger defining her much like how the word _“weak”_ seems to colour her actions. Naruto does not glare, because even the most talented of thieves don’t dare lift weapons and wallets from the occasional Jonin that meanders into the ghettos of Konoha. He instead stares at Kakashi, watching with a gaze that means a lot of things to those from the jonin corps, and nothing at all to those who were in his academy class.

Kakashi claps his hands together. “This was an exercise in teamwork. You all failed.” He says, before explaining what they did wrong. For Sasuke, it was assuming his teammates were useless and attempting to do everything himself. For Sakura, it was her needle-like focus on Sasuke, who was on the other side of the field, and not Naruto, who was closer and there easier to help.

Kakashi pauses when he looks at Naruto, before saying “You knew what the test was about, didn’t you?”

Naruto stares, and then replies, “I did ask if we were meant to help each other, Kakashi-sensei. I asked a question, and ya didn’t answer, sensei.” Naruto stares at Kakashi, gaze boring a hole into his teacher, “I’m curious sensei,” Naruto begins, turning his gaze away to the memorial that’s hidden behind the trees, black stone soaking in the sunlight, making the memorial warm to the touch, if Naruto could touch it. “Are you planning to leave us all brimstone?”

Kakashi does not answer. He tells them not to feed Sasuke and that they have one last chance to pass. He then leaves, disappearing into the forest, and Naruto cracks open the bento presented to him, Sakura already eating and Sasuke glaring at the ground like it was the one that did something wrong.

Naruto stares at his food for a long time. He’s fought whilst hungry plenty of times. He can do it again. He presents his lunch Sasuke, who pauses and stares at Naruto like he’s insane. Sakura yells at him, telling him that they’re surely going to fail now, going against Kakashi’s orders. But Naruto only looks at Sasuke, gauging his reaction. “I’ve fought hungry before. You two haven’t. It’s better that Uchiha eats something, then I do. You’re strong. Haruno’s smart. All I got is being a gallows bird. What good can someone like me do compared to the two of you?”

Naruto pushes the lunch to Sasuke towards him more, saying “Don’t you want to enact your own revenge, Uchiha?”

And then all the sudden, there’s an explosion, all smoke and noise, and Kakashi appears, shouting “What is this!?” to them, and Sakura stands up, stammering apologies and excuses, whilst Naruto stands there, staring at Kakashi. “You…” Kakashi begins, with a low growl, that abruptly turns into a cheeky tone of voice, eye glittering with mirth. “all pass. Congratulations.”

He explains his philosophy, that those who break the rules and codes of ninja are trash, but those who abandon comrades are less then that. Naruto grins, dropping the last of the rope from Sasuke’s bound form, tucking knives away into sleeves and standing back. Kakashi lets them go home, and Naruto does so, walking towards the bridge. He soon stops however, and sees Sakura, standing there, clutching the strap of her bag in a white-knuckled grip, eyes downcast.

“Haruno?” Naruto asks, staring at the pink-haired girl in confusion. “Is there something you need?”

Sakura tightens her fingers around her bag strap, and mumbles something and Naruto prompts her to be louder.

“My…mother,” Sakura begins, shaking, “She asked me to buy groceries after training but the store we normally go to would be closed by now and the only one that’s open is… well…” she trails off, but Naruto knows what she meant. The one located on the edge of the slums would be open, but that’s where most pickpockets would gather, and fresh genin are a prime target. Also, the storeowner is a hard-ass and a con-woman to anyone not from the slums, but that’s because she’s from the slums herself, but that’s neither here or there.

“Do you want me to come?” Naruto asks, and Sakura nods, nervous.

They make their way to the store, and Sakura hurriedly buys her items, using the little bit of money her mother gave her, leaving her with an empty wallet. Naruto plans to walk her the edge of the block before going home, but then he stops and grabs the wrist of a child, 8 or 9, thin wrists and dirty black hair. “Oi, Rat,” Naruto says to the child, dropping the other kid’s wrist, accent thick. “The slinker here has no bits left to pick, the pigeon-plucker took all of it.”

“How’d you know?” Rat asks, accent thick as he stares at Sakura, who hides behind Naruto, staring back. “Maybe I just wanna pick her pig pokers instead.”

“It ain’t worth it. Go home, I sure your brother needs you or something.” Naruto says, eyes cold. “Natty lads shouldn’t even be around this area, so _go home.”_

Rat sticks his tongue out at him and scampers off, and Naruto scowls, and returns to leading Sakura away from the slums. “You fine? No scratches?”

Sakura nods, and a soon as they reach the end of the block, Sakura pauses. “Naruto… can you teach me?’

Naruto raises an eyebrow. “Depends on what you’re talking about.”

Sakura seems to stew over her request, before saying “The way you speak. How you talked to that child. How you talk to everyone. I want to learn.”

Naruto stares at a dandelion that grows in the middle of the path. He’s not sure about teaching Sakura the language of the slums, the language of children who go hungry and cold nearly every night. The language of invisible children. Naruto ponders Sakura’s request, because he’s not sure about teaching someone that isn’t from the slums the language of them, because she’s never grown up having to steal from those who have more then them.

But Naruto also thinks, some broken desperate part of him that just wishes for love, for acceptance, for someone to just _look_ at him without scorn in their eyes, that he can have one connection with a person that should hate him. Everyone in his academy class had avoided him, most of the teachers hated him, and within good reason because he contains a fox and he’s one of the invisible children, and that gives most people a reason to hate him. So maybe a part of him craves this connection with his teammate, because loneliness defined him and solitude branded him, and he is a thief with no one to go home to, so maybe there is some part of him that just begs for this one shred of connection.

“I can teach you the patter flash,” Naruto begins, hands trembling so much that he stuffs them into his pockets. “But it’ll cost ya.”

Sakura nods, determination in her eyes. “I can pay you in mon-” she begins, but Naruto interrupts her.

“Not in bits. You can pay me by treating me to a bowl of ramen. The ones from Ichiraku.”

Sakura blinks, and asks “Wait, really?”

Naruto snorts, the situation is too absurd not to laugh at. “Wanna learn how to fight dirty too? All the slum kids learn it, so maybe you can learn it too. You ain’t got that much muscle mass anyway.”

Sakura stares at him before taking in a breath. “If it’s no bother, of course.”

“Great, we start tomorrow, while Kakashi ain’t around.”

Sakura snorts. “Yeah, that can work.”

\---

In the hours that Kakashi is late, Naruto teaches the language of the slums to Sakura. They had asked if Sasuke wanted to learn too, but he had grunted and stalked off to go practice his fire Justus over the creek. In turn, Sakura re teaches everything that the academy failed to teach to Naruto, because she saw his seal work for the first time and screeched when she saw his handwriting.

It’s a deal and not a promise, because there is no promise of friendship and there is no promise of lessened hatred from her to him, but it is an opportunity to learn, all the same.

Naruto never had anyone to rely on except other invisible children and himself. But maybe, if he allows himself this…just maybe, there can be someone else to rely on.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr [here](https://pkmn-trainer44.tumblr.com/) and [here!](https://kayoiwritingarchivies.tumblr.com/)


End file.
